In One Day
by Cocoon02
Summary: Serah's whole family spontaneously reunited in one day. All of them. But Noel, he was alone.


**Author's Note:** Soooooo, this is a birthday present for my lovely friend, Avid Vampire Hunter! (posted extremely late, but she got it on time, so that's all that matters) I haven't done a whole lot of Noel/Yeul stuff, but hopefully it makes you think that I have, haha!

Enjoy!

* * *

"We did it." Noel said, looking out over Academia from the top of the airship as the crystal remains of Cocoon settled upon the ground. The crash site would be evident for hundreds of years, but it would be a reminder of the day humans conquered time.

"We did, didn't we?" Serah stood beside him, smiling up at him. "It's finally over."

Noel turned to her, asking, "You're not seeing anything, are you? No visions?"

She shook her head. "Nope, not a thing."

He grinned widely, absolutely relieved. "That's great. So," he paused, "we're really done."

"Yeah." Serah attempted to brush her hair out of her face, but the strong winds blew it right back. "It doesn't seem real."

"Hey!"

Noel and Serah turned to see Hope land smoothly on the surface of the airship. He jogged over to them, that slight smile of his showing _his_ relief. He stopped just short of the two of them, Mog bobbing around his head, wiggling with excitement.

"Kupo!" He exclaimed.

"Someone's happy." Serah giggled.

"Absolutely, kupo!"

"So, is it really over?" Hope inquired. "Everything working out, it's not a paradoxed farce?"

"Nope, this is real. It's over." Noel clapped him on the shoulder. "Couldn't have done it without you."

Hope breathed out a chuckle. "Well, I wouldn't have known to do anything if you two hadn't found me, and told me we could change the future." He nodded toward a hatch that Noel assumed led inside the ship. "Let's go. I'll tell Sazh that it's over-"

"We can start looking for Lightning!" Serah interrupted, trying once again to wipe her hair from her face. "And Snow!"

"You think they'll be here?" Hope asked her. "In this time?"

"Now that everything's fixed, everyone will return to when they're supposed to be." Noel told him. "And considering we're still here, I think this is when we're supposed to be. So they better show up!" He shouted to she sky. "Or I'll make a few more paradoxes to get 'em here."

Hope laughed as Serah added, "Please don't," with a laugh of her own.

_"Hey, kids!"_ Sazh's voice came over the intercom system. _"I'm gettin' a message from the Academy that I think you'll wanna hear."_

"Well, you heard the man." Hope said, starting for the hatch. "Let's go."

Once inside, Noel was immediately thrown by the lack of wind blowing in his face. One second it was there, and the next he was inside, wind-free. He couldn't hear it anymore either, but quickly adjusted to both the stillness and the silence. Hope led them through the halls of the airship towards the cockpit, where Sazh awaited them.

Another thing that threw Noel: how lost he got in such a short time. Everything looked the same to him. The walls were all standard dull-grey metal, a pattern broken by the occasional door. He did notice the colored arrows, and assumed that different colors led to different places. Even if they were true, and he knew which arrow to follow, he thought that he'd still get lost.

Not surprisingly, the system made more sense to Hope, and they made it to the cockpit. The door slid sideways into the wall, and they were met by Sazh, who was _not_ piloting the ship.

"Autopilot." He explained. "Here, listen to this." He reached for one of the many buttons on the wall panel and said, "Tell the Director here what you just told me."

_"Greetings, Director."_ Came a female voice from a small speaker on the panel.

"Hello." He replied. "Is there a problem?"

_"I don't know if you'd call it a problem."_ She said. _"It's about those women we rescued from the pillar."_

"What about them?" Hope demanded.

_"I - I don't know how to explain it, sir, but they - they're not crystal anymore."_

Hope choked on any response he may have given. He placed a gloved hand over his mouth and breathed in, not letting it go. No one else said anything either.

_"Sir?"_

Hope allowed his lungs to work again. "Well be right there."

_"Yes, sir."_

A short tone indicated that the connection had been terminated. It repeated itself until Sazh pressed the button again.

"Did I hear what I think I just heard?" Serah asked, glancing around at all of them. "Is this a dream?"

"They're back." Hope confirmed, sounding slightly dazed.

"I told you, everyone's going to when they're supposed to be." Noel crossed his arms and gave an affirmative nod. "This is it."

Sazh moseyed over to the pilot's chair, and began flipping more switches and pressing more buttons that made even less sense to Noel that the arrows in the hallways. The floor beneath them jerked as he took control again. Mog flew to the huge window that covered every inch of the front of the cockpit that wasn't a machine of some sort. Sazh swiped at him. "Move over a bit, buddy, I can't see."

Mog obliged. "Kupo."

"How long has it been…" Serah murmured.

Noel analyzed the thoughtful look on her face, and the distant one in her eyes. She was back in the time she used to belong to. The one that changed everything.

"Five hundred years." Hope replied. His voice told Noel he wasn't really with them either. He strolled to a space beside Sazh and watched the clean, sleek buildings of Academia appear to grow in size as they approached. He wondered: Serah's family was coming back together, would he still be alone? Had his future changed?

_"We will meet again."_

"It's about time they were free." Sazh added. "They've been workin' too hard for too long."

"Five hundred years is a long time." Noel agreed.

"Nah. It's been a lot longer than that." Sazh cocked his head with a sigh. "Been about, oh, more than a thousand now."

"Bet they've got some interesting stories."

"'n now they can tell them." Sazh maneuvered the large airship into place alongside others that were coming in as well. They lowered to the ground in unison, and a simultaneous metallic _clang_ sounded as they landed.

"I gotta shut down here." Sazh said, turning back to Hope. "You kids go on ahead."

"You sure?" Hope asked. "We can all go together."

"Yeah, I'm sure. Besides," Sazh grinned, "there are more important people than me they need to see right now."

"You're very important, Sazh." Serah insisted.

"Oh, I know." Sazh said, sounding puffed-up, but they all knew he was just playing along. "But Fang and Vanille can wait a few more minutes for me, I don't think they can wait for him." He waved at them dismissively, as if they really were the kids he kept saying they were. "Go. I'll be right behind you."

Hope nodded. "You'd better be." He practically turned on a dime and headed out. Serah followed suit, and after a glance at the old man, Noel did too. However, Mog was a bit slow.

"I said get goin' you oversized fly!"

Noel chuckled as the moogle sped for his safe zone: Serah. The white puffball didn't like him very much, but certainly was a constant source of amusement.

They left the airship and followed Hope into the main hub of the Academy. He stopped a tech and asked a few questions, then sped off in another direction. After a few doors, the layout began to look very familiar.

Great, Noel thought, more hallways.

"Where exactly are we going?" Noel asked as they turned another corner.

"When we began the rescue operation, we had a place set up for Fang and Vanille's crystals." Hope explained. "But we hadn't planned on them waking up. They've been moved to our medical facilities."

"Are they okay?" Serah sped up to walk beside him.

"Of course, but remember, we're scientists."

"So which is it? Care or curiosity?" Noel queried.

"Probably a mixture of both."

The crisp scent of sanitized air indicated the nearing end of the numerous hallways. A final door led them to the source. The facilities had a simple setup, but it was clean, and it seemed efficient. There were very few patients, which said something about the safety of the was the Academy operated. Aside from being crisply sanitized, the air in the place was dull, and everyone was doing what they were supposed to, like clockwork. The cogs meshed and if one jammed the rest pushed it back into working order. But there was one jam that would need some…outside interference.

"I told you, we're fine, now back off with those needles."

Hope laughed, something soft but louder than a chuckle. "They're just doing their jobs, Fang."

A woman clad in blue, with dark, messy hair, turned at his voice. A friendly smirk that could have become dangerous in a second crossed her face. "Well. Look at you."

"Yeah, it's been a while."

"Hope?"

Another girl, sitting on a cot beside Fang's, hopped off of it. Her hair was a vibrant pinkish-orange, and her smile was about as bright. This must be…

"Vanille…"

She went to Hope and hugged him tightly. He hugged her back, a bit awkwardly. Which didn't surprise Noel, he didn't seem like a physical person.

"I missed you." Vanille said softly.

"I never stopped trying to get you back." Hope informed her.

Fang sighed overdramatically. "Goddess, get a room already."

The two sprung apart, both very red-faced. "Fang!" Vanille cried.

Fang shrugged.

Noel smiled, but only on the inside. He should've known there was something more to Hope's work. If they were just friends, he would've made freeing her a side project, not his life.

In an effort to change the subject, Vanille turned to Serah, and hugged her next. "I'm so glad you're alright!" She exclaimed.

"I could say the same about you." Serah told her. "We weren't sure if Hope had managed to get you two out."

"Well here we are." Vanille said, letting her go. She looked at Noel next. "So, you're Noel, right?"

He nodded. "That's me. I've heard a lot about you. Both of you."

"Well that's hardly fair." Fang said. "We don't knew anything about you."

"That can be remedied."

"Director." One of the techs Hope had spoken to earlier stepped in and waited for his response.

Which he gave. "Yes?"

"There are people asking for you, sir. They're very…insistent."

"How so?"

"They, keep saying they know you. They're not causing trouble or anything, but…" The tech trailed off.

Hope nodded. "I'll take care of it."

The tech nodded back, and turned out.

Noel understood why the tech was concerned. Hope was centuries out of his time. No one outside of the Academy could claim to know him personally, and if they did, well, they were just asking for trouble in Noel's opinion.

Hope looked back at them. "Let's go. All of us."

Without waiting for acknowledgement, he started to leave. But before he could get very far, Serah took hold of his arm.

"You think it's Snow and Lightning, don't you?" She asked.

Not making eye contact with her, Hope answered, "Yes, I do."

* * *

Hope was right. It was Snow and Lighting. Etro's chosen warrior was trying to calmly explain to the woman at the main desk that they weren't lying to her, while Serah's fiancé was pacing incessantly behind her, looking very agitated.

"Snow!" Serah cried, rushing forward to her family. "Lightning!"

The two of them pivoted at the sound of her voice, and their faces lit up almost simultaneously.

"Serah!" Snow laughed joyfully. When she reached him, he picked her up by the waist and spun her around in the air. They were embracing by the time her feet hit the floor. "I wasn't sure I'd see you again."

"Don't even think about it."

Lighting placed a hand on her sister's shoulder. "You did beautifully."

Serah backed off of Snow. "Sis…"

Lightning just smiled. Then she glanced up at Noel. "Thank you. For protecting her."

He nodded. "And thank you, for giving me a reason to live."

"Oooh, this is depressing, kupo!" Mog wiggled in the air before flying over to Serah. Noel thought that he'd been quieter than usual since they'd returned from Valhalla, but count on Mog to make a quiet moment loud.

Everyone laughed.

"Hey!" Sazh walked up from behind them, hands in the air. "Been lookin' everywhere for you kids! Where you been?"

"Sorry, Sazh." Hope apologized. "We didn't know where we were going either."

"Yeah, yeah." He smiled at Vanille. "Hey, little girl, where've you been?"

She giggled. "Sorry, I slept in."

"Ah, it was only a _couple_ centuries."

"Yes." Fang said. "Goddess forbid she sleep in for a _few_ centuries."

"Hey, you too."

Noel elbowed Hope. "Have they always been like this?"

"From day one."

* * *

Serah's whole family spontaneously reunited in one day. All of them. Fang and Vanille woke up and Snow and Lightning said they had just…appeared in Academia. Snow had known where to go from a timeline that no longer existed, and everything just fell into place.

But Noel, he was alone. Not that he'd ever admit he felt that way, because he knew it wasn't entirely true. Serah and Hope were his friends, Lightning and Snow at least liked him. Everyone had already accepted him as part of the family.

Even so, he couldn't help the way he felt. Caius and Yeul were the only two people he'd had left in the world, but…they were both dead. Poor Yeul couldn't escape it, and Caius took his own life.

Noel sighed. He'd spent the past few days sitting outside of the guest apartments the Academy had set up for visiting scientists. He and the others were staying there until they had everything worked out. They kept asking him if he was okay, and he kept saying that he was. He hadn't yet decided if he was actually telling the truth or not.

As the metallic breeze caressed his face and tugged at his hair, he could feel them. Every bruise from Caius teaching him to fight, Yeul in his arms when she was scared, when she died. Two very real, very different types of pain.

A tiny blue bird landed at his feet. It's miniscule talons ticked on the ground as it hopped around, pecking at the dirt. He watched while it used it's small beak to groom through it's gossamer baby-blue feathers. He watched with reverence and curiosity. The only wildlife he had real experience with was large and deadly. But this little guy was small enough to fit in his palm. The bird's harmless innocence both fascinated and saddened him. He couldn't help but think of Yeul.

In fact, he couldn't get her out of his head. After she died, he was so numb, he couldn't think of anything. Then Lightning saved his life, and he had Serah to protect, the world to save. Everything had been too crazy to think about it. But it was all over now, and he had too much time. He kept thinking about her. Her life, her death, the many incarnations of her he and Serah had met. All dead. He thought about, how it felt to watch her die, how - how she held his hand while she…

_"You don't have to cry. We will meet again."_

He sighed heavily and rubbed his hands over his burning eyes. He heard the little bird fly away. He'd never wanted this to happen to her. He'd known, they'd all known, but he thought…he thought he could protect her. He puffed out another lungful of air. He guessed that practice made perfect. Serah lived. He hated himself for being slightly bitter about that, but it hurt. It hurt that this girl who's life he'd been thrown into lived. But Yeul, whom he'd tried to protect since they were barely walking, died. He knew it wasn't fair to Serah to feel that way. He knew it, but he couldn't control his heart.

"Goddess, why." He muttered to himself. It wasn't a proclamation of irritation so much as an actual question.

Etro did this. To Yeul. To Caius. To Serah. He wanted to know why. Who did she think she was helping when she gave the first Yeul her "gift"? What did she think it would solve?

That was all over now, he supposed. Yeul was dead. Even if by some miracle the correction in the timeline brought her back, that was two hundred years in the future. He'd be dead before her great grandmother was born. Besides, aside from Hope, correcting the timeline had killed more people than it had saved.

"Noel?"

His heart stopped. He couldn't be hearing her. His grief was fabricating her voice because he was thinking about her. This wasn't real.

"Noel? It's me."

He took a deep, long breath, If he looked up, and he was just going crazy, it was going to hurt like a knife right in the chest. And he - he knew how that felt. He looked up.

It was her. It was really her. She was standing right in front of him, just as real as the little bird. He was on his feet before he could think and she was in his arms. And he was in hers. Her head was pressed into his chest and her hands clasped behind his back. He felt the warmth of her body, and he cried, just like she told him not to.

"I told you we would meet again." She said in her soft voice. "You don't have to cry."

Noel choked on a breath that he thought was meant to be a laugh. He stroked the back of her head, running his callused fingers through her silvery-blue hair. "You died, right in front of me."

Yeul looked up at him, green eyes bright, the way they'd always been. "I remember. But I woke up here this morning, so I came to find you."

Noel held her out at arms length, but didn't let go. If the gods were done with him, he'd never have to again. "How did you find me?"

"Once I realized where I was, I began asking where I could find Hope Estheim." She explained. "I knew you'd be with him."

He gave her a puzzled look. "How do you know Hope?"

"I saw him, in one of my visions." She told him. "This city, too."

His heart jumped again when she mentioned the visions. Now that time had been corrected, were her visions things of the past? He couldn't watch her die again.

She must have read his fears in his face. "I won't have any more visions, Noel. You stopped them. You and Serah."

Noel sighed, and gently brushed his hand along her cheek. "I'm sorry, Yeul, that you had to go through all this."

"Why are you apologizing?"

"Because, I…couldn't protect you. I-"

While he was still trying to find the words to say what he wanted to say, Yeul pulled him down closer to her level and kissed him. Caught complete off-guard, he didn't kiss her back, which he immediately regretted once she pulled away.

"What-" He started.

"Because you wouldn't do it." She said matter-of-factly. "Noel, you couldn't have saved me, no one could. What happened to me was _meant_ to happen. Remember? I knew I was going to die."

He took her angelic hands in his bloodied ones and brought them to his chest. The breeze returned and her hair danced around her porcelain face with the wind in time. With the breeze came the call of birds singing joy for the lift, and several came soaring out of the trees that spotted the yard. While still looking for the words he had to say, he heard a door slam, and his peripheral vision saw Serah exit the apartment she and snow were sharing. She saw them, too, and approached at a speedwalk that turned into a jog.

"Yeul?" She had a bit of an incredulous look on her face. Like she couldn't believe it. Which was slightly ludicrous, considering she'd almost single-handedly ensured Hope's continued existence, and the fact that her whole family was back together.

Yeul took her hands back, and Noel dropped his to his sides. She smiled at Serah, tying Noel's stomach in knots. "Hi, Serah."

"It's really you?"

"Yes. I am the Yeul that Noel knew before he met you." She cocked her head slightly. "I knew what you two were going to accomplish. Some of it, at least. I wanted to thank you."

Serah shifted her weight to her sight side. "How did you get here?" She asked. "To this time, I mean."

"I think…" Yeul swiped her hair from one side of her face behind her ear. "I think I'm supposed to be here, with Noel. I was dead, but when you corrected the timeline, I woke up here in this city."

Something seemed to click for Serah. "You talked to Hope, right?"

Yeul nodded. "He was the one who told me where to find Noel."

"That must be why he called for me." Serah mused. "Look, I'd better go talk to him." She smiled. "I'm glad you're okay, Yeul."

"I'm glad Etro's gift didn't do to you what it did to me." Yeul replied.

"Me too." Serah nodded at the two of them, then headed off.

Yeul turned back to Noel, but didn't look him in the eye. "Noel, I need to tell you something."

He put a hand on her shoulder. He ran his thumb back and forth on her skin. "Go ahead."

"I…" She took her time, but her grass-green eyes eventually met his. "I love you."

For the third time that day, Noel's heart stopped. "Yeul…"

"I have for a long time." She continued quickly, like if the didn't speak now she would never get the chance again. "But I didn't want to tell you because I knew I was going to die. I didn't want to make it any harder for you."

He held on to both of her shoulders, and then pulled her back into his arms after taking a deep breath. She loved him. He'd…imagined, hoped that maybe she felt that way. But it was just a stupid fantasy. All he wanted was for her to be safe and happy. "Yeul…"

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

He chuckled softly. "No, Yeul, you're fine. It's just… I love you, too. I always have. I told myself you were just my friend, that I couldn't do that to you. So I did nothing. …And than you died."

Yeul held him tightly. "Do you ever listen to me? I told you I'd see you again."

He rested his head on top of hers, so his lips brushed against her forehead when he spoke. "I listened to every word you said. I wanted to believe you, but I was alone. I didn't believe anything anymore."

"I believed you." She murmured. "You said you'd protect me, and I always felt safe."

"You have no idea how much that means to me."

"It can't be as much as you mean to me."

Noel gently placed his hands on either side of her face. "I will _always_ protect you. Nothing, not even the goddess herself will get in my way again. I love you, Yeul."

He finally returned that kiss.


End file.
